fact or fiction
Is it fact or merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores the myths and beliefs we hold about our family dynamics, traditions, and if there's such thing as a 'perfect family.'
Midnight or Sunrise
Prologue “Mommy, mommy where are you.” I ran around the playground looking for her, and I didn’t see her anywhere. It was getting dark. I was getting scared and cold.
Katie EaglePublished 6 years ago in FamiliesCloth Diapers Update
This post is for all of my mothers who follow my blog. If you a frequent reader of my blog and have read my original post: Why we switched to cloth diapers; you are aware that my family made the switch to cloth diapers a year ago. I wanted to give you an update and discuss: the reality, struggle and real talk that comes from using cloth diapers.
That Broke BohemianPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesSwitching to Cloth Diapers
Before I was pregnant with my first born and currently only child, Delilah, I started researching the best alternatives for everything that her skin would come in contact with. I didn’t purchase Johnson & Johnson products, Orajel, chest rubs, or anything that had even a slight negative review for fear that it would harm my child. But what I forgot to research was disposable diapers and alternatives for them. Was that possible? Did they make organic diapers? The Honest Company’s disposable diapers were the only chemical-free ones that I found but the prices were outrageous for our budget. Besides, some still claimed that they weren’t as chemical free as the company had claimed. I was at my wit's end until I found cloth diapers.
That Broke BohemianPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesThings Breastsleeping Does to Your Body
Before diving into this article, let's discuss what breastsleeping is—and no, that's not a typo; you read that correctly. Breastsleeping is simply the act of sleeping with your baby while breastfeeding. The term breastsleeping was created by James McKenna, Ph.D, the director of the University of Notre Dame's Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory.
Julie BarnesPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesA Toy
I sit on a shelf and I watch. The little girl comes and goes frequently. She doesn’t play with me anymore. I am a frog and I rattle. I have seen many birthdays and many sad days, like the day she took me to the hospital to say goodbye to her grandma. Or the day she turned five. I’m all dusty now and I have moved homes. The little girl got taken away from her family 'cause her daddy hurt her. She was in the hospital a while one time. She slept a lot and hardly picked me up. She constantly brings little children into this room. They come and go. Never the same children. I don’t know why they don’t play with me anymore. The little girl is grown now. She has a big belly. She took me down off the shelf and washed me. I was put into a bed but it has bars. The girl has gone away for a couple days but she is home now. There is a small child in the bed with me. I am getting played with again. The little boy becomes one then two and then three. I watch as he grows older and older but he constantly plays with me. I don’t rattle anymore but he sleeps with me and I haven’t been put on a shelf in a long time. I got taken to a new place and it’s huge. He calls me lucky. He thinks I’m a good luck charm. A few years pass and soon we move again. I am set on a shelf in a little room. It has dragons and knights on the walls. And the bed with bars is in the corner. He takes me to a hospital with him. He is crying. I notice the girl is in the bed. She says he will see him soon and then there is that same weird noise. The same noise that was there when she said goodbye to her grandma. He turns to a girl who is standing next to him. She hugs him and places a hand on her belly. He says it’s time. He rushes her out the door and takes her to a different floor. I am in his pocket. Time flies by quickly and soon I’m introduced to another little child. He holds me and the child as doctors rush past. The kid grows up constantly in the hospital as his mother loses her hair and then her strength. The little boy holds me close as his dad kneels in front of him. He says mommy has to go to a far away place. The little boy is confused. But his mom tells him goodbye and she loves him and then she is gone. I am growing old my time is coming close. I watch the little boy turn five. I watch more years fly by. I have a hole in my side and I have lost all my stuffing. My time is close. I am put in a bag and then a metal box. I hear rumbling and then I feel wind. The bag is with a bunch of other bags. The bags get picked up by a metal claw thing. The bags are dropped in a chute and a weird clanking sound starts up. I see a bright light and then I feel heat. This is it. This is the end. I am close to thirty years old. Most toys don’t live past fifteen. I feel the heat get hotter. I am ready. I am gone.
Teresa MathersPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesGrandfather’s Hand
The beeps coming from the hospital equipment were the only noises in the pristine room. The smell of antiseptic stung Maggie’s nose. She walked up to her grandfather’s bed. He had tubes coming from his nose, and more sticking out of the veins on his hand. She lightly brushed her slender manicured fingers along his boney swollen hand. He groaned as if to say he felt her touch.
Hillary AstonPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesA Life Not Spent Alive
The earliest memory I have of myself is one that, to anyone else, seems pointless to hold on to. A waste of memory space, so I've heard. But, I don't know...I cherish it too much.
Effects of Corporal Punishment
Many Americans believe that physical punishment is effective and harmless, despite what research shows. This form of discipline can mentally damage a child in a number of ways. Physical punishment used to get rid of an unwanted behavior can negatively affect three basic steps in learning, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and cognition.
Shared Birthdays
Given that there are more than 7 billion people on the planet and only 365 (or 366) days in a year, it is clearly impossible for every person in the world to have a different birthday. Taking smaller groups (ie. groups whose members number fewer than 365), the chance of everyone having different birthdays would increase. It is simply a matter of odds.
Sapphire RavenclawPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesIt's More Than Just Blood
Family has nothing to do with blood, but everything to do with love. I grew up in a family so big we lost count of how many of us there were. I remember times at Thanksgiving that our house was so packed that some of us stood around the table and even outside eating. If you asked my mom how many kids she has, she would tell you around 50, last time she counted. None of that is blood-related kids, but every one of them means just as much as the four children she gave birth to. See the "family" I grew up with was much different than yours. I grew up with more brothers and sisters than you could ever imagine and I wouldn't change it for the world. You see my family and I grew up far from my blood family so all we had was our close friends here and, to be honest, they were more family than my blood ever had been.
Kirsta HarringtonPublished 6 years ago in FamiliesShort Story: Memoir of Boonk Moonks
It all started on Eighth Avenue, Lower-East side of Manhattan, Hell’s Kitchen, apartment B-11. I was heading home from school. On my way home I would always stop by Pablo’s Hut to pick up my day-to-day paycheck. Two slices of pepperoni pizza. Financial instability would be one of the many words that I would use to describe my childhood.
Carolyn JohnsonPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesShould School Proms Be Banned?
Personally, I didn't particularly like my prom because everyone just voted for each other, but it was just nice to see everyone for the last time. I didn't really spend that much on my prom dress at the time. Plus none of my friends that I hung out with at the time didn't even go, so it was a bit lame to be honest. I found it as a closer of sorts because I didn't particularly like school.
Lizzy ArrowPublished 7 years ago in Families